This year I saw my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations, 10 x in terms of the sales. The world literally went virtual overnight back in March (or even earlier).

As we roll down the year, I thought it would be useful to highlight 5 of my favorite Effective Virtual Conversations posts for the year:

• From February EVC Tip #174 – Micro-meetings. How many meetings did you attend this year? What would have made them better? Shorter?
• From this Summer – The Messy Middle – EVC Tip #160
• Ways to Keep Your Virtual Meetings in the Flow  
• Effective Virtual Conversations – Stories – EVC Tip #167 
• And a revisit to this 2017 video on the Habits of Effective Virtual Facilitators 

All the best!
​Jennifer

Given that this year has focused so heavily on the virtual world, this week we are going to start to take a look at the essentials of virtual facilitation. As more and more professionals start to operate in the virtual domain it is important to develop not only skills but also confidence in building connection with remote staff, facilitating meetings, and transitioning most activities.

Four core skills in virtual facilitation include:
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Reading the environment - Even though you may not be physically present in a room, great virtual leaders and facilitators, are able to read the environment. There is a much to be said through the way people are speaking - their pace and how fast they are speaking; the pitch or level at which they speak.
Part of reading the environment is also noticing the overall energy of the call. I think we can all recollect times when meeting energy was very low (what I often call the "Death By Conference Call") Or when meeting energy was very high.
Next time you are in a virtual meeting, think about how you would describe the energy of the call.

Listening - In virtual environments listening is critical. We want to be listening for the speech patterns, but also what is being said and not being said. Notice the flow of conversation, who is dominating and who is holding back.

Managing the process - In virtual facilitation a strong hand on process can go far. Given that we often don't have the same cues as in the face to face environment, it's important for the leader or facilitator to take a  strong hand with process - time allocated, agenda items, making sure you are starting and ending on time, clarifying decisions and where you are going to next.

Engagement - Virtual meetings can feel never ending. It's important to engage people throughout the call. Design with the group what engagement can look like (for example, an expectation that you will hear from everyone) etc. In a future post I'll explore different engagement techniques for virtual meetings.
How are you doing with each of these areas? If you are looking for practical techniques and approach to boost your virtual facilitation, check out the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program where I personally train you to boost your skills as a virtual facilitation.
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Consider joining me for the next one-day session next week or in 2021.
 
Pressed for time? View the Teams365 blog post at my YouTube Channel here. 

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Welcome back to another Stand Out Virtually weekly principle. This week I wanted to share the principle that “Things get magnified in the remote space”.  That’s the good, the bad, and the not so great.
 
What are the things you want to showcase? When we have limited time together as teams or others, things become more pronounced.

If things are unclear, it’s likely that they will be even more unclear. If people feel disconnected, their sensation may be even more around disconnection.

What are the things you want to spotlight? What needs volume to be amplified around? To be minimized?
 
Enjoy the conversation,
Jennifer

Over the last few weeks, I have been undertaking a lot of speaking around virtual facilitation, as well as hosting a number of virtual groups, and virtual train-the-trainers. I’ve also been part of several online conferences, either as a participant, or as in the case of Running Remote, a community sponsor.

One of the key themes which has emerged is HOW do we BUILD connection across the virtual space?

When things are complex, it’s even more important to intentionally be building connections across a group.

Here are two ideas:

1. Have people introduce themselves by asking them to share something that they bring that’s unique to the group. After everyone has welcomed themselves, be sure to ask the group to consider the key themes which have emerged across the group.
2. Add a layer of BINGO to your next meeting – you can see it at play in our Remote Pathways Podcast call around Trust and Connection from May 2020. Check it out here.

​Check out the November 17th blog post which includes links to the topic of trust and connection as well. You can read the November blog post here - TEAMS365 #2514 – Building Connection in Your Remote Team #remoteteams - POTENTIALS REALIZED

This is in addition to a couple of other ideas including:

• Create a virtual co-working group of people inside, or outside of your organization, stating time to meet online.
• Joining communities of like-minded people who are also exploring topic areas of similar interest.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Aligned with this week’s theme of branding, celebrations and motivations I thought it would be useful to reach back to one of my July 2020 posts. This year I’ve been building out a series of programming around Stand Out Virtually™, and what it means for you and as a business.

Here’s what I wrote back in Teams365 2403: 

One of the many challenges faced at the moment is standing out remotely. With back-to-back virtual meetings becoming the norm, one call can blend into another. Note, if you haven’t read yesterday’s Back to The Basics call on the Energy of the Call, check it out.

At the same time, many professionals are concerned that they are not as visible in the virtual space as they are in a face to face environment. This translates to concern around their visibility for career progression, taking on special projects etc.

Several things you will want to consider:

#1 – What does “standing out remotely” mean for you? What’s important about this? Do you want to stand out more so that your message is remembered – which may mean more about presentation techniques? OR is it standing out as a professional?  And perhaps someone who is known for great virtual calls which whiz by and are remembered. What’s your WHY around this?

#2 – Our personal brand can get translated through the screen through our slides, images, our background and also what we are wearing. What are the brand elements you want to keep in mind?

#3 – Be proactive. This might mean getting into the rhythm of connecting regularly with others. It might mean getting a mentor. It might mean focusing in on getting active in a professional association. What do you want to be known for?

Standing out remotely means many different things. I’ll be focusing more on the topic in August as it relates to leading more engaging and memorable virtual calls. Are you ready to Stand Out?

Even though the Challenge is complete, you can check out my 5 Day Challenge – Standing Out Virtually. Participate in the challenge at your own pace for $97 US.

I hope you will!
​Jennifer

One of my favorite activities at the end of a meeting or training session is the Gallery Walk. In in-person realms, we can look around the room at what has been created, on flipcharts or a whiteboard.

What can we do to translate this to the virtual environment?

We can do a Virtual Gallery Walk!

As you go through your meeting or training virtually, consider what are the elements you want to highlight and showcase at the end.

You might take screenshots as you go through a meeting OR you might bring forward whiteboards again.

Think about what moments will highlight the different moments in time.
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Enjoy the “walk down memory lane”!
Jennifer

This week we covered a range of topics including:

• Saturday’s Weekly Journaling Prompt: Relationships Which Are Important
• Friday’s Flashback Friday 4 Ways to Minimize Distractions with Remote Work
• Thursday’s Team Building Pitfall Alert
• Wednesdays Virtual Events – 4 Things to Keep in Mind
• Tuesday’s 3 Ways to Stand Out Virtually
• Monday’s Effective Virtual Conversations Tip:  Screenshots

It’s not too late to join us for the Fall 2020 Stand Out Virtually Incubator. Geared for those that want to take their virtual learning and conversations up a notch this program not only focuses on the art and science of great virtual design, but also marketing. Be sure to catch up on this week’s calls and join us live for the remaining six weeks of sessions. Reserve your spot here (1 and 3 installment payments).

Enjoy,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders 
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326​

While social distancing has put in-person events on hold, there’s a plethora of amazing things you can do virtually. From online conferences, to taking an entire post-secondary course, to virtual coaching groups and speed networking on Zoom, there is a wide variety of different options of what you can be doing virtually.

Today’s post gets you to think about three things when organizing or hosting virtual events, both large and small. You may want to read today’s post in conjunction with yesterday’s Teams365 blog post – 3 Ways to Stand Out Virtually.

When hosting our own virtual event, keep the following in mind:

Be clear about expectations. There are so many different types of virtual events, that it is important to clarify what your event is going to be like and what level of interactivity people can expect at your virtual event.

Clarify the small details – verbally and in writing. This might include email copy, a welcome video and a welcome email. Remember that not everyone is likely to read their email so if there is any pre-work required before people get in the room, note that you’ll want to reinforce key details in multiple ways.

Consider a balance of learning, reflection and dialogue. It’s likely that since the beginning of the pandemic you have been part of multiple learning events. Consider which ones allowed you to be an active learner, or whether you were being “talked at” during the session. 

As someone who started off her career as an experiential educator, I value the three-part cycle of learning and action, reflection, and then dialogue. What that can look like in the virtual space is a mix of learning something (i.e. a lecture), then a reflection piece of focusing of doing some individual work/worksheets and then dialogue- talking it out virtually with one or more people.

Get people “in the room” before the event to get them thinking about the experience. In cognitive science we call this “priming”.

Depending on the type of event you are hosting getting people in the room might include:

• A pre-call with each person to learn more about them, cover key logistics and answer any questions they have – this is ideal for small groups.
• For medium sized or larger groups, it might include a pre-call concierge experience. This could entail welcoming people into your “room” or platform for some pre-event networking, so they can meet others, and also “road test” the technology. This provides the benefit of providing a focus, connection point and networking experience for people.

 
Leave time to take action on WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP? Critical for virtual events, where running from one Zoom room to the next is the norm, is leaving time to take action, or at least schedule, the next step. Be sure to leave time in your programming to focus in on what’s the next step – for them, and for your next touchpoint.

Let us know which of these three areas are most resonant for you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Jennifer

PS – Don’t forget that this week I’m kicking off the Stand Out Virtually Fall 2020 program. Join us live on either Mondays from 1:00 – 2:30 or Fridays from 1:30 – 3 pm ET for the next 7 weeks. We’ll be exploring these tips and many more, geared to support you in creating your most powerful virtual programming. Check it out here. 

This past week I hosted a 5-day challenge called “Stand Out Virtually – Corporate Edition”. We explored what’s needed to create interactive, and memorable, corporate engagements, whether you are working in organizations that are for-profit, not-for-profit, public sector, start-ups or associations. Those who attended were coaches and other learning professionals, leaders, and entrepreneurs, who lead programming for organizations and have had to pivot or expand their virtual offerings.

Three key themes we talked about this week around creating memorable and impactful virtual calls are what I term in my book – Effective Virtual Conversations – “Death By Conference Call” or today’s term of “zoom fatigue” were:

#1 - Invite people to interact and get active – Conversations are not meant to be a passive endeavor. They need to be active. Talking at people one way is not having a conversation. Be sure to use the “engagement levers” available to you – from chat, to annotation, polling or breakouts. Different size virtual rooms, and different platforms will provide different options available.
Task: Review one of your current presentations this week. What is one way you can create more active focus on the part of participants? Note incorporating this every 7-10 minutes is often a good rule of thumb.
 
#2 - Improve your questions – Leadership in the remote and virtual space is via influence. This is another reason why conversational skills become so important virtually. Consider what questions will elicit the response and action you are looking for.

Questions are usually asked one at a time, only 4 to 6 words in length, and the most open-ended questions usually (but not always) start with WHAT. Why questions may put people on the defensive if trust levels are not high. How questions will move people into a process orientation.

Asking two questions at a time is often referred to as stacking and may lead to people not knowing which question they should refer to.

Task: Spend some time thinking about and reviewing the questions you want to ask in an upcoming presentation. Are they clear? What do they invite people to do – connect the dots, look to the bigger picture, etc?
 
#3 - Consider the visuals – One of the main channels we have in communication is visual. What are the visual elements you are using in your presentation or conversation? Is there an opportunity to create a metaphor to make a more complex topic simpler? Or a graphic or illustration which could synthesize new ideas.

Task: Consider your visual elements this week – photos, colors, metaphors and images.  What is important to note about your visuals?

Just a reminder, that this week we are starting the Stand Out Virtually Fall 2020 Incubator.

If today’s blog post is a topic of interest to you and you want to learn more about creating WOW conversations for the corporate arena, I’ll be hosting a seven week virtual learning series this fall on Mondays from 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET called the Fall 2020 Stand Out Virtually Incubator. Each week we’ll host a live learning call, you’ll participate in viewing some micro-learning and you’ll also be paired with a peer accountability partner to support you in building out and positioning your work. Whether you are external or internal to an organization, this program will build your tools, clarity and confidence around standing out virtually. Click here to learn more and register. 

The program runs from Monday October 19th to Friday December 4th.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Last week I had a lot of FUN connecting in with professionals who are scaling their virtual conversations into the virtual marketplace. Whether you are an entrepreneur, coach or a leader inside an organization, it’s critical that we get better at communicating our messages for the remote space.

Some of the key themes touched on last week include:
The importance of having a robust toolkit of virtual engagement strategies. The days of “talking heads” are done, and so are the days of the Death By Conference Call (check out my posts from 2014 on this). Most people in the remote space EXPECT as interactive a conversation as possible – whether the engagement is via chat, voice, annotation or polls.

The importance of creating a clear business case. What’s important about this topic? What is the cost of not doing something? What is the cost of building capacity, or training people, or….?

In such a volatile business context, one of the only certainties is that virtual conversations and remote work is here to stay. To build up your toolkit of virtual engagement strategies be sure to check out the 5 Week Virtual Academy I am kicking off this Friday. We’ll be exploring the following topics:

• What’s your virtual offer
• Designing an Engaging Virtual program
• Building a Business Case for your Virtual Event, Training or Conversation
• Contracting
• Masterful Delivery
• Remote Team Needs

 
We’ll be taking a deep dive through on-demand modules and live sessions. I hope that you will consider joining us.

With best wishes,
Jennifer